Join the fight against Cancer

Dear Editor:

What if we could personally participate in research that might help determine factors that cause or prevent cancer?

What if our involvement, and that research, ultimately leads to the elimination of cancer as a major health problem for this and future generations?

Local residents have an unprecedented opportunity to participate in cancer research this year. Enrollment for the American Cancer Society’s third Cancer Prevention Study will be taking place at Palms West Hospital and the Boca Raton Hospital Lynn Cancer Institute.

For specific dates and locations, visit www.cancer.org/ cps3Florida.

Individuals between the ages of 30 and 65, who have never been diagnosed with cancer, are encouraged to sign up. Participants will simply fill out a comprehensive survey packet about health history, provide a small blood sample and a waist measure. They will periodically be sent a followup questionnaire for the next 20 to 30 years.

If you aren’t eligible to participate, you can still make a difference by telling everyone you know about Cancer Prevention Study-3.

For more information, visit www.cancer.org/cps3, email cps3@cancer.org or call toll-free 1-888-604-5888.

Nancy Madsen

American Cancer Society Patient Services Manager

West Palm Beach

RE: Entranceway to BEACH

Dear Editor:

A beach community thrives with green access to the water. Our beach infrastructure is mediocre, A1A is a mess near the pier and cars rule due to meters at the beach. It’s unsafe to bike, jog or walk, let alone skateboard anywhere.

Mayor, please consider reducing traffic along the oceanfront and become more people-friendly.

The unique location here should allow safe waterfront activities for all ages without the constant threat of vehicular traffic.

Our residents yearn to walk, skate, surf, bike, rollerblade or dance north and south at the Atlantic Ocean.

Improve the island by eminent domain, also a hot topic [pg 1, Oct. 24 Observer newspaper, “Entranceway to BEACH…”] and preserve more space so we can play at home and become the nautical destination you envision over the next few years.

Brian Prang

Deerfield Beach

Skateboarders: abide by rules

Dear Editor:

I’m not much for writing letters, but this morning as my husband and I walked along the beach on the sidewalk, as we have done many mornings for the past 20 years, there was quite a group of teens with skateboards riding ON THE SIDEWALK.

We had to be careful not to be knocked down. Then came the icing on the cake—— a sheriff’s car passed by slowly, but never stopped to inform these teens that the rules (on signs in plain sight) say “ NO SKATEBOARDS ON THE SIDEWALK.”

Over the last few years, we have noticed that the rules are ignored. If we say anything, people tell us to mind our own business. and some have even used profanity. This goes for people riding bikes and [people] with dogs on the sidewalk and even on the beach.

We are not against anyone enjoying the beautiful beach properly.

How can we have a peaceful place to walk early in the morning around sunrise if the rules are not enforced?

Nancy Linnartz

Deerfield resident, year-round

Century Village – singing its praises

Dear Editor:

There are many who constantly complain about anything and everything.

[Century Villagers who complain about living there, might want to] attend a [Village] meeting or two, and some of their agendas might be addressed.

We have a beautiful Village of over 700 acres, with people from all over the world who own approximately 8,600 units. This is where they choose to spend their full- or part-time living.

They join some of the nearly 100 clubs and organizations and workshops. They can swim in any of our 14 pools, relax or meet with friends in our huge clubhouse, or play tennis on any of our 13 courts. They can, further, join in shuffleboard, bocce, horseshoes, petanque, volleyball, ping pong and the latest craze: pickleball, as well as a newly-renovated and expanded gym facility.

Residents are kept aware by our monthly, 100-page newspaper that contains vital information for all unit owners — which can be also accessed through the Internet.

It is a great venue for friends and grandchildren to congregate. We also have three Synagogues on premises, with bus service to the nearby churches. Our in-house buses run anywhere from the beach to all local shopping centers and back.

And, lastly, the Broadway-type weekly shows, concerts, and dances in our 1,200- seat auditorium, with state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, are unmatched in any of the communities near or far.

If this can’t be considered heaven, what is?

This is an atmosphere of good feeling and enjoyment.

Not participating in any or many of these venues is, really, to not fully enjoy life and its many riches.

Shelly Baskin

Richmond F

Deerfield Beach

Government shut-down

Dear Editor:

Shutting down the government is the most unpatriotic thing Congress could do.

We elected the 535 men and women who serve in the House and Senate to do a job – and that job does not include such extreme partisan bickering that they become incapable of rectifying their differences to keep the government running.

Congress had a deadline: 11:59 PM EDT Monday night. Since they failed to meet it and the government has shut down, every single one of the 535 members should be voted out in their next election.

Lt. Col. Allen B. West, USA (ret)

U.S. Congressman (2011-2013)

Praises for devoted teachers

Dear Editor:

I hear so many stories this school year about good/bad teachers and it is only a month-plus into the school year.

So I wanted to write this letter and show those who speak poorly that there is good … even great, out there.

On a recent Wednesday there was a torrential downpour as I was driving my son to school. As I pulled up to the car line, I noticed the lot was flooded and yet teachers who were drenched to their hips, cold and holding umbrellas as lightning hit all around walked to each car and sheltered each child to the school. Some carrying the littlest one to the door. Now that’s devotion to each and every child! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a WHOLE school come together and take care of their own. It all works under the direction of the principal, Dr. Kaye at Somerset Pines Academy.

So know although its early in the school year, there are MANY wonderful teachers out there and I am grateful to ours!

Let’s start praising those who do so much for our children because, like our children, they too need a pat on the back every once in awhile to make them feel appreciated.

Dana Wade

Deerfield Beach

“Taxation without representation”

Dear Editor:

My father, who was a college professor, once told me that you could be the smartest person in the world, but if you do not have any common sense, you’re not going far in life.

This [city] commission needs to make some hard choices. Stop the spending — you can’t just raise taxes or the fire fee every time you need more money. You can’t spend more than you take in, period. Where are the people supposed to get the money? We can’t just go ask for a raise when we need more money with the insurance, and just about everything is going up. What are we, the people, supposed to do? Isn’t that what the revolutionary war was about — taxation without representation?

Steve Fabrizio

Deerfield Beach

RE: Fire fee, taxes

Dear Editor:

I have to respond to the comment made by one resident [“Deerfield passes NEW $175 fire fee, Sept. 19 Observer] concerning how unfair it is for people from Century Village to pay the $175 fire fee when they only occupy units comprising 1,000 sq ft.[or less].

The fact is that Century Village [in District 3] uses the services of fire-rescue more than any other district in Deerfield Beach, and, aside from District 2, they pay next to no real estate taxes.

District 1 presently pays approximately 48 percent of the total taxes in the city and yet those people who contribute the least – Districts 2 and 3 — constantly complain!

The reason that Deerfield Beach is going broke is that out of approximately 74,000 residents who live in Deerfield Beach, only approximately 35,000 actually contribute to its tax base!

Allowing Century Village to be developed here in Deerfield Beach has turned out to be one of the most fiscally irresponsible decisions ever made! This development is a burden to our city and has caused and will continue to contribute to the financial downfall of Deerfield Beach!

Pat Jolivet

Resident of The Cove

Deerfield Beach

Dog owners: Control your pets

Dear Editor:

I have a note that I would like posted in the newspaper about warning dog owners to be in control of their dogs. My small dog was attacked by two large dogs. The owner did not have control of the dogs and they belted out of their collars to attack my dog. Luckily, my dog survived!

Joan Murphy

Lighthouse Point

Back to Work!

Last month, we got back into the swing of things with the first meeting since June when we broke for Summer Recess.

A great deal was accomplished over the summer. With unemployment rates lower than the state and national rates, a seaport that makes us a relevant force in the global community, and with investments into county assets that draw tourism and create even more economic growth; Broward County is hard at work for you, and it is indeed working.

As we plan the future use of your tax dollars in a series of two budget hearings on Sept. 10 and 24, the Board of County Commissioners will discuss and vote on the Fiscal Year 2014 Broward County Budget. The County’s General Fund reserves are in a healthy state and have received favorable ratings from multiple credit reporting agencies. In fact, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has revised their Financial Management Assessment (FMA) from “good” to “strong” based on the county’s financial management practices. The common theme from all the reporting agencies is that local governments are strongly discouraged from utilizing onetime funds, such as reserves, to fund recurring expenses such as personnel salaries and benefits for other constitutional officers in the county. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends that regardless of a county’s size, at a minimum, their reserves should maintain no less than two months of General Fund operating revenues or General Fund operating expenditures. The informal policy of the Board of County Commissioners has been to not expend funds from the reserves unless there is a dire emergency. This practice negates the need for short-term borrowing during the first two months of the fiscal year before property taxes are received.

Our responsible budgeting leaves us in a stable position to handle any and all situations we may face here in South Florida with the threat of disastrous hurricanes such as Katrina, Rita and Wilma. We’re still waiting on reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) related to Hurricane Wilma, and, despite that, we still thrive in the economic climate the rest of the nation is facing.

We owe it to the residents of Broward County to continue being responsible with county’s millage rates, even during an economic uptick.

The real economic stimulus is when tax payers get to keep more of their-hard earned money and spend it how it best suits their needs. This is what really helps to make Broward County a better place to live, work, play and raise a family.

Chip LaMarca

Broward County Commissioner

Deerfield Jackals are waiting!

Dear Editor:

Our elected officials need to watch closely what they say, how they vote, and who they are seen with in public, because the voters may be watching/listening … closer than they think.

Our elected officials need to understand that they REPRESENT the people, and need not always follow the administration’s wishes, nor vote what they want for themselves. I listen to some really dumb things come out of the mouths of supposedly intelligent elected people, who profess to know it ALL.

And when they are talking, they expect voters to believe they’re working in our best interest.

Today’s voters aren’t as naïve as many elected officials may think, and it’ll be proven at the polls next time around, just like the last Mayoral race.

The old saying is, “You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool ALL of the people ALL of the time.”

One major problem Deerfield Beach is having is the nonchalant, casual manner the vast majority of our voters take toward our twice-per-month commission meetings at City Hall. Our four commissioners also hold quarterly meetings in their respective districts, and often have fewer than a dozen residents attend. We’ve done nothing to increase attendance at these meetings over the past several years. Only when a major neighborhood issue is being confronted do the voters show up in large numbers.

We desperately need a change here in Deerfield Beach, and you’d best believe that it’s coming soon. The poor attitude/climate found in our current city administration and their ‘deceitful’ ways dictate a change long overdue.

These executives tend to shut out any public input, or distort the facts so badly that the average John Q. Public is frightened away.

How can we be polite and respectful to those kinds of leaders?

We cannot and we will not allow our city to be run by a pack of Jackals feeding in our wallet!

Nancy Foreman

Deerfield Beach

RE: Millage rate, BUDGET

Dear Editor:

I was quoted in your Sept. 5 issue. However, I needed to be quoted in total. [At the Sept. 3 city commission meeting,] I began by stating I do not want people who pay little or no taxes telling me I should pay… Later, I agreed with Mayor Robb that there needs to be cuts in the budget, if I have to pay higher taxes.

Judy Giller

Deerfield Beach

Editor’s note: Due to space and deadline constraints, it is not always possible to run every speaker’s quote in full on a late-breaking story. We reserve the right to make editorial decisions based on length and content.

2013 Property Tax Rate Increase!

Dear Editor:

Citizens of Deerfield Beach, have you noticed that the city commission wants to raise the city property tax rate by more than one mill? What happened to the promise that the Utility Tax would help to avoid increases in the property tax rate. We’re now back to the pre-utility property tax rate in just one year.

The new mayor even campaigned against the Utility Tax and now she wants both that and a large increase in property taxes. I guess we were fooled again by promises from politicians that seem to vanish once elected. Other surrounding towns (Lighthouse Point and Pompano Beach) have held their rates. Why can’t Deerfield Beach? What can be done?

Attend the hearings and voice your objection.

David Nace

Deerfield Beach

Why are your taxes going up?

Dear Editor:

This budget cannot be considered without touching the conclusions brought about by the Fitch ratings downgrade of our municipal bonds.

[Regarding the merger with BSO fire-rescue], the former commission was sold a bill of goods and voted with the city manager’s endorsement to merge the fire dept. with BSO in 2011. They were told to expect an immediate savings of $1.6 million in addition to long-term savings. The projections were based upon a cursory, one-year cost analysis that was provided by the county. There are not any savings that have been clearly identified to-date.

With the passage of the 10 percent Utility Tax, the commission figured they could lower the millage rate by 1 mill – not knowing that it was creating financial chaos.

Please do not blame this newly-elected commission for the sins of the past.

We are now faced with cleaning up the mess.

Jean M. Robb,

Mayor

Deerfield Beach

How to be RIGHT and WRONG at the same time

I had a dream. No, it was not a “bad” dream, where you wake up and find that it was just a dream and everything is really okay. Just the opposite. This was a “good” dream, from which I awoke and found that everything was the way I had left it: personal fears and indecisions, worldwide chaos and an America ravaged and heading for the imperial dump heap.

In my dream, I was in a band playing a guitar. The leader was a guy named Evie, who was with me overseas in WW 2, and who I liked very much. In my dream, Evie was the band leader and I was a musician in the band. The music we were playing was dreary and dull, and the audience was responding with yawns and squirming in their seats, and wondering how any music could be so dull and uninspiring.

Having been an entertainer most of my life, I knew what that band needed to perk the audience up and give them a lift. So I picked up a pair of drum brushes and began filling band sounds with rhythmic swish beats, and the audience, feeling the difference, began to swing in their seats and were immediately all smiles.

Then, I told Evie the band also needed a singer who could vocalize with power and class. And maybe a number that called for audience participation. With that, Evie got upset and brought in some musicians who made the band sound more and more non-listenable. Next, Evie told me I was fired and asked what he owed me. I was flabbergasted, but I managed to say: “A hundred bucks,” which he gave me.

Then I woke up, the dream still hanging on in my mind like leech.

I couldn’t help, in my waking mind, analyzing the dream and trying to discover what this crazy incident was trying to tell me. Having been a musician and entertainer, I knew in my mind and heart that what I had done for the band was right. I say again, I KNEW I was RIGHT.

Then, like a mental flash I realized that I was also WRONG. Evie had an idea of what a band should sound like and I had tried to change the sound…HIS sound to MY sound, which told me in unmistakable terms that, although I was right, I was also WRONG. And I had better understand that and learn to live with that DUAL opinion…in music, and in all things in life. It was proof that dreams do teach us something. This doesn’t mean I forfeited my opinion; that will always be sacred to me. But it also means that every human being (even Evie) has an opinion that is just as sacred to them. And, whether I agree with it or not, I should respect that.

Jim Moore,

Tallahassee

Citizens, take an interest in your city

Dear Editor:

I sit in the audience during many Deerfield Beach city commission meetings listening to our leaders tell us what a wonderful job they’re doing, and saying our city is in great shape.

Transparency in our local government just isn’t there, folks. They don’t answer letters promptly, forget to return phone calls, or just plain ignore anyone who has a problem or something negative to say about operations.

At meetings, they talk down to citizens making a complaint or they have an inappropriate remark about the person’s appearance, spelling or discredit their background any way they can.

Those actions alone discourage many of our voters from attending city meetings or volunteering … folks don’t want to feel public scorn or reprimanding from our commission.

The only time we seem to get a “full house” at one of our meetings is when the public has a major complaint about how things are being run in our city government.

Things like the Utility Tax passed without a public vote, or the transfer of our Deerfield Beach Fire-Rescue Dept. to Broward County, leaving our firefighters with a pension program second to none …It will probably bankrupt this city in a few years if not corrected immediately in this current budget.

The rapid addition of upper management personnel, BIG salaries, secretaries and expenses, while at the same time “outsourcing” almost half our budget just doesn’t make any sense to me at all.

Citizens of Deerfield Beach, rise up, accept the challenge to take back our city government now, or forever pay the price for your lack of involvement!

Trust me, you’ll be glad you did, and you’ll be many dollars ahead.

Fred Foreman

Deerfield Beach